Counter and control structures for motion picture cameras



Aug. 3, 1965 J. BOLSEY 3,199,117

COUNTER AND CONTROL STRUCTURES FOR MOTION PICTURE CAMERAS Filed April 21, 1960 13 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. BOLSEY Aug. 3, 1965 COUNTER AND CONTROL STRUCTURES FOR MOTION PICTURE CAMERAS Filed April 21. 1960 13 Sheets-Sheet 2:

I INVENTOR. X4675 B05417 @MJ Jaw J. BOLSEY Aug. 3, 1965 COUNTER AND CONTROL STRUCTURES FOR MOTION PICTURE CAMERAS 13 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 21. 1960 INVENTOR.

Mar Bafr BY 3, 1965 J. BOLSEY 3,199,117

COUNTER AND CONTROL STRUCTURES FOR MOTION PICTURE CAMERAS Filed April 21, 1960 15 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN V EN TOR.

Aug. 3, 1965 J. BOLSEY 3,199,117

COUNTER AND CONTROL STRUCTURES FOR MOTION PICTURE CAMERAS Filed April 21, 1960 I 13 Sheets-Sheet 5 J. BOLSEY Aug. 3, 1965 COUNTER AND CONTROL STRUCTURES FOR MOTION PICTURE CAMERAS l5 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed April 21. 1960 MIMI 1 J. BOLSEY COUNTER AND CONTROL STRUCTURES FOR MOTION PICTURE CAMERAS 1 mg 3 W65 3 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed April 21. 1960 IN VEN TOR. Zia/IQ J. BOLSEY Aug. 3, 1965 COUNTER AND CONTROL STRUCTURES FOR MOTION PICTURE CAMERAS Filed April 21. 1960 13 Sheets-Sheet 8 R. r m .7 0 \N%\ (M Ma 7 w J \\m\ m M 4 T 6E E 6i M an mwk v. B

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COUNTER AND CONTROL STRUCTURES FOR MOTION PICTURE CAMERAS Filed April 21. 1960 13 Sheets-Sheet 9 IN VEN TOR.

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v. v Q W M/ =W/ PE x 2 M s .0. 4. 4 0 l w 5 00 2 w h a Q, 3 6 V A Ur a Aug. 3, 1965- Filed April 21, 1960 J. BOLSEY COUNTER AND CONTROL STRUCTURES FOR MOTION PICTURE CAMERAS 15 Sheets-Sheet 11 INVENTOR. ja B061 1965 J. BOLSEY 3,199,117

COUNTER AND CONTROL STRUCTURES FOR MOTION PICTURE CAMERAS Filed April 21, 1960 13 Sheets-Sheet 12 FIG. 25

INVENTOR.

Aug. 3, 1965 .1. BOLSEY 3,199,117

COUNTER AND CONTROL STRUCTURES FOR MOTION PICTURE CAMERAS Filed April 21, 1960 13 Sheets-Sheet 13 FIG. 30

28 28/ IN V EN TOR. 37 /ac9ues Be 97 United States Patent 3,199,117 CQ UNTER AND CUNTRilL STRUQTURES FOR MGTEGN PlCTURE CAMERAS Jacques Bolsey, Hartsdale, N.Y., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Halsey (Jorporation of America, New York, NY.

Filed Apr. 21, 1960, Ser. No. 23,853 8 Claims. (Cl. 352-172) The present invention relates to cameras.

More particularly, the present invention relates to motion picture cameras.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an extremely small, simple motion picture camera with a relatively simple effective structure capable of indicating the film footage which remains to be exposed.

It is another object of the invention to provide a film footage indicator which will automatically zero itself whenever the magazine is moved from the camera, so that upon introduction of a new magazine into the camera the film footage indicator is automatically ready for operation.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a film footage indicator of the above type which will reliably become zeroed irrespective of the position of the actuating structure of the footage counter when the camera stops.

A further object of the invention is to provide a structure which will automatically set a footage counter of the above type up for operation when a magazine is introduced into the camera.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a camera of the above type with a control structure which has a number of positions allowing several different types of operation to be carried out.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a control structure which in one position is capable of blocking the camera against operation, which in another position is capable of operating the camera as long as an operating button is maintained depressed by the operator, which in still another position is capable of maintaining this button depressed so that the camera will continue to operate even if the operator does not hold the operating button depressed, and which in a still further position is capable of operating the motion picture camera as a still camera.

With the above objects in view the invention includes, in a motion picture camera, a casing which has a magazine compartment and a support means which supports a pin which extends into the magazine compartment when the latter is empty. Upon introduction of the magazine into the magazine compartment this pin is pushed outwardly of the compartment, and a structure cooperates with the latter pin for setting a footage counting structure into an operative position, so that in this way the footage counting structure is rendered operative in a fully automatic manner simply upon introduction of a magazine into the magazine compartment of the camera. The counter structure is actuated by a pawl and ratchet mechanism which is released from the counter disc itself when a magazine is removed from the camera so that a spring can zero the counter disc automatically, and a structure is provided for reliably placing the pawl out of engagement with the ratchet irrespective of the position of the pawl whenever the magazine is removed from the camera, so that zeroing is guaranteed at all times upon removal of a magazine from the camera.

The structure of the invention also includes a claw urged by a spring drive to oscillate for advancing the filth and a stop lever which has an operating position in the path of movement of the claw so as to prevent oscillation of the latter and thus maintain the camera stopped against operation. An operating button is carried by the camera and when depressed acts on this stop lever to turn the latter to an inoperative position releasing the claw for operation, and this button can be turned to one position where it is blocked against movement so that the camera is blocked against operation at this time. In addition the button cooperates with a control lever which in one angular position of the button locates the control lever in the path of movement of the claw so that after the stop lever is turned away from the claw to release the latter for movement the claw will move and then be engaged by the control lever which will stop the claw from further movement as long as the button is depressed, and in this way the camera is capable of taking still pictures also.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective illustration of the camera of the invention as seen when looking toward the front of the camera and the side thereof which includes the spring-winding handle;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the camera held by the hand of the operator;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective illustration of the camera casing structure, the parts located at the exterior thereof, and a pair of mechanismsupporting plates as well as a magazine;

PEG. 4 is an exploded perspective illustration of the pair of mechanism-carrying plates and all of the structure carried thereby, with the exception of the powerspring assembly;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective illustration of the front wall assembly of the camera;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective illustration of the power-spring assembly;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective illustration of the magazine assembly;

FIG. 8 is a side elevation of one of the mechanismcarrying plates and part of the structure carried thereby, FIG. 8 also showing in section part of the front wall assembly;

FIG. 9 is a front elevation of the camera with some of the plates of the front wall assembly removed to clearly show the structure behind these plates;

FIG. 10 is a side elevation of the camera with the casing cover removed as well as with the magazine cover removed so as to show the inside of the magazine, FIG. 10 also showing the objective assembly and part of the front wall assembly in section;

FIG. 11 is a transverse section which is partly fragmentary and which is taken along line XIXI of FIG. 8 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary transverse section taken along line XII-XII of FIG. 9 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 13 is an elevation of another embodiment of a pressure plate which can be used in the magazine of the camera;

:FIG. 14 is a fargrnentary transverse section illustrating another embodiment of a structure for limiting the powerspring to one direction of rotation;

FIG. -15 isa diagrammatic illustration of another em bodiment of a governor structure;

FIG. 16 is a diagrammatic illustration of a third embodiment of a governor structure according to the invention;

FIG. 17 is a section taken along line XVII-XV1I of FIG. 16 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 18 is a fragmentary side elevation of a film-foot-v age counter of the camera of the invention;

FIG. 19 is a fragmentary section taken along line XVIVXVIV of FIG. 18 in the direction of the arrows, the pawl structure of FIG. 18 being omitted from FIG. 19 for the sake of clarity;

FIG. 20 shows the structure of FIG. 19 in a different position;

FIG. 21 is a fragmentary side elevation of one of the mechanism-carrying plates as seen from the outside and showing a counter disc and governor of the invention;

FIG. 22 diagrammatically illustrates another emb diment of a footage indicator of the invention;

FIG. 23 is a fragmentary side elevation of another embodirnent of a film-footage counting structure of the invention;

FIG. 24 is a fragmentary transverse section taken along line XXIVXXIV of FIG. 23 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 25 illustrates the claw assembly of the invention;

FIG. 26 is a fragmentary illustration of the manner in which the claw assembly acts on the film;

FIG. 27 is an elevation of the shutter assembly of the invention;

FIG. 28 is a transverse section taken along line XXVIII-XXVIII of FIG. 27 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 29 shows the structure of FIG. 28 as seen from the right of FIG. 28;

*FIG. 30 is a front elevation of a plate of the front wall assembly, this plate carrying the structure which regulates the size of the exposure aperture as well as the nut which carries the objective; I

FIG. 31 is a transverse section taken along line XXXI XXXI of the FIG. 30 in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 32 is a diagrammatic illustration of the control structure which enables the camera to be operated in a number of different ways.

General The motion picture camera of the present invention iS exceedingly small and can comfortably be carried about in a pocket or in a ladys handbag, for example. Thus, the camera may be approximately 1" from side to sid 3" from top to bottom, and 2 /2 from front to back. FIG. 2 illustrates the camera carried by the hand of the operator so as to give an approximate indication of the size of the camera.

As may be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, the camera include an exterior casing means it}, and this casing means includes a cover 41 which can be removed for the purpose of removing a magazine from a magazine compartment within the camera as well as for the purpose of introducing a new magazine. FIG. 1 shows the viewfinder 42 extending along the top of the camera as well as the handle 43 which is turned in the direction of the arrow 44 carried by the exterior casing for the purpose of tensioning the power spring. When not in use the handle 43 lies against the side of the casing 40 in an exterior recess thereof, as clearly indicated in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 also shows at the front of the camera the operating button 45 which is turned to different angular positions and which is depressed for the purpose of operating the camera in different ways. Also, the objective 46 is shown at the front of the camera, this objective 46 carrying a projection 47 in the form of a pointer which cooperates with the indicia of a scale 43 for the purpose of focussing the camera.

In addition, there is located at the front of the camera a knob 49 which carries exposure time indicia and which can be turned to align this indicia with an index 50 for the purpose of regulating the exposure time of the camera.

The camera also includes a disc 51 shown in FIG. 1 projecting freely so that its rim is accessible for turning by the operator, and this disc 51 carries indicia indicating the size of the exposure aperture, this indicia being aligned with an index bearing the letter so that the f or stop numbers are indicated in this Way.

These items such as the operating button 45, the obj ctive 46, the exposure time regulating knob 49, and the aperture regulating disc 51 all extend from a front plate 53 which carries indicia such as the scale 48 and whic forms part of the front wall assembly described below.

A cord 54 in the form of a loop is removably connected to the camera at the bottom thereof, as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2, so that the operator may insert his hand through this cord with the latter looped around the wrist, and in this way the camera can be securely held by the operator, as indicated in FIG. 2.

Casing and framework The casing means 4%] includes, as shown most clearly in FIG. 3, an outer casing member 69 stamped from sheet metal such as stainless steel, for example, and this outer casing member 60 is in the form of a rectangular container with rounded corners and open at one side, as is evident from FIG. 3. It has an endless wall and a side wall, and this side Wall is visible in FIG. 1 and is formed with a circular indentation 61 so as to provide the circular recess 62 shown in FIG. 1 to accommodate the handle 43 of the power spring. At its top wall the outer casing member 66 is formed with an elongated cutout 63 of substantially rectangular configuration. The side wall of the casing e!) is formed adjacent its upper rear end with a window 64 and an element 65 of clear plastic, for example, is fixed to the inner surface of the side wall of the casing 60 and covers the window 64 so that foreign matter cannot enter through this window. As is evident from FIG. 1 at the exterior surface of the casing member 69 is a window 64, and in this window appears an indication of the number of feet of film left to be exposed. The circular indentation 61 is formed with a central opening 66 for a purpose described below, and the bottom wall of the casing 60 is formed with an opening 67 for a purpose described below.

The casing means 40 further includes an inner casing member '70 (FIG. 3) which nests within the outer casing member 69 with a fairly snug fit. Although this fit is fairly snug the casing member '70 can be slipped without difliculty into and out of the casing member 64 The casing member 70 is of the same general configuration as the casing member 64 and has a bottom wall formed with an opening 71 which is coaxial with and located over the opening 67 of the casing member 60. When the casing member "iii is nested within the casing member 69 the side wall 63 of the casing member 7% is located directly next to the side wall 69 of the casing member as, and this side wall 68 is formed with a relatively large cutout 72 through which the circular indentation 61 ex tends, and also the window 64 is accessible through the cutout 72. In addition, the casing member 79 is formed in its top wall and at the upper portions of its front and rear walls with an elongated cutout '73 of the same size as the cutout 53 and aligned with the latter. The endless side Wall of the casing member 7t) has a width greater than the width of the endless side Wall of the casing member 60 so that the casing member 7% has a peripheral edge portion 74- which extends beyond the free edge of the endless side Wall of the casing member 65) when the member 7% is nested within the casing member 60.

The cover 1 is also of a generally rectangular configuration and includes an endless flange '76 which fits snugly over the free edge portion 74 of the casing member 70 so that when the cover 41 is in its position closing the camera the free edge of the flange 76 will abut against the free edge of the casing member 60. A member 77 is fixed to the top wall of the cover 41 and has a pair of projections 73 extending downwardly through a pair of openings 79 formed in the top wall of the cover 41, and these projections 78 snap into a pair of recesses 89, respectively, formed in the top wall of the casing member '70 along the free edge portion 74 thereof. Due to the springiness of the metal of the casing member 71 the projections 78 will snap into the recesses 80, and in this way the cover 41 will be releasably held on the casing member 71) in a light-tight manner, but at the same time the cover 41 can be easily removed by the operator.

This cover 41 is formed in its side wall with a window 81 which is covered by a member 82 of clear transparent plastic which is fixed to the inner surface of the cover 41 extending across the window 81 thereof. The window S2 is surrounded by an endless portion 83 of foam rubber or the like, and when the magazine 85 is in the camera the endless member 83 presses against the exterior surface of the magazine 85 so as to maintain light-tightness around the window 81. Thus, indicia 84 pertaining to the nature of the film within the magazine 85 is visible through the window 81 while at the same time light cannot pass from this window 81 into the interior of the camera to undesirably expose the film. Of course, it is not essential to provide light-tightness around the window 81 by means of an endless strip 83 of foam rubber or the like. A single straight strip of foam rubber may be glued to the inner surface of the cover 41 extending diagonally across the same from its upper right corner to its lower left corner, as viewed in FIG. 3, and of course such a simple straight strip will also provide the desired light-tightness.

The above-described casing means houses a framework which carries the mechanism of the camera, and this framework includes a pair of parallel plates 86 and 87 (FIGS. 3 and 4) made of any suitable rigid metal. A spacer means is located between the mechanism-carrying plates 86 and 87 to connect the latter to each other while maintaining them parallel to each other at a given distance from each other, and this spacer means includes a lower block 88 of metal located between and engaging the plates 85 and 87. A screw 89 extends through an opening 91 of the plate 87 into a threaded bore 91 of the block 88, and a similar screw extends through the opening 98 of the plate 85 into a threaded bore of the block 88, so that in this way the latter block is fixed to the plates 86 and 87, and in addition this block 88 may be soldered to the plates 85 and 87 so that the block 88 cannot move with respect to the plates 86 and 87 once it is fixed thereto.

The spacer means further includes a pair of spacer pins 92 and 93 (FIG. 4), the pin 92 having reduced ends one of which extends into an opening 94 of the plate 86 to be fixed to the latter by any suitable screw or the like. In a similar manner the spacer pin 93 has a reduced end extending into the opening 95 of the plate 86 and fixed to the latter. The opposite reduced ends of the spacer pins 92 and 93 respectively extend into openings 95 and $7 of the plate 87 and can be upset in these openings 96 and 97 so as to have a riveted connection to the plate 37.

An additional pair of spacer members 1110 and 101 are fixedly carried by the plate 87 between the latter and the plate 86. The spacer member 101 has a reduced end received by the opening 162 of the plate 87 and upset in this opening so as to be fixed to the plate 87, and in the same way the spacer member 1 has a reduced end re ceived in the opening 103 and riveted to the plate 8 7 in the opening 103. The spacer members 106) and 101 also have reduced ends directed away from the plate 87, and these latter reduced ends respectively extend through the openngs 164 and 105 of a bridge plate 105 which is connected by the spacer members 1131 and 101 to the plate 87 in spaced parallel relation to the latter. The member 1111 has a riveted connection to the bridge 1% in the opening 104 of the latter, while the member 1110 has an elonged threaded portion 1117 receiving a nut 1118 which serves to participate in the fixing of the bridge 106 to the spacer member 100. Elongated member 1115 has a threaded bore which receives the elongated threaded portion 107 of the spacer member and the free end of this member 1119 bears against the inner surface of the plate 86. This free end of the member 1119 is also formed with a threaded bore, and a screw 110 extends through the opening 111 of the plate 86 into threaded engagement with this threaded bore of the member 1119, so that in this way the member 109 together with the member 101 form an adjustable spacer located between the plates 86 and 87.

The framework of the camera includes in addition to the mechanism-carrying plates 86 and 87 and the abovedescribed spacer means interconnecting these plates, 3. frame member 115 of the front wall assembly of the camera, this frame member 115 being shown in FIGS. 5 and 26. The frame member 115 has, as viewed in FIG. 5, an elongated portion 116 on the right thereof, while a shorter portion 117 projects to the left from the elongated portion 116. The frame member 115 is made of any suitable metal and may be suitably coated with a black coating. When the frame member 115 is assembled with the plates 86 and 87, the elongated portion 116 of the frame member 115 extends along the exterior right surface of the plate 87, as viewed in FIG. 4, and only the relatively short portion 117 of the frame member 115 extends across the space between the plates 86 and 87. A screw member 118 extends through an opening 119 into pivot engagement with a threaded bore 126 of the frame member 115, while a similar screw member 121 extends through an opening 122 of the plate 87 into threaded engagement with the threaded bore 123 of the frame member 115, so that this latter frame member is fixed in this way to the plate 8'7 with the front portion of this plate engaging the left surface of the elongated portion 116 of frame member 115, as viewed in FIG. 5. The projection 117 is provided at its lower left end portion, as viewed in FIG. 5, with a projecting portion 124 which is received in the notch 125 of the plate 86 (FIG. 4).

As is evident from F165. 5 and 26, the frame member 115 has a shoulder 126, and this shoulder 126 engages the edge 127 of the plate 87. The shoulder 12% of the plate 87 is engaged by the top surface of the projecting portion 117 of the frame member 115.

The frame member 115 is provided at its rear surface with a shoulder 129 extending across the elongated porion 115 of the frame member 115, and a similar shoulder 131) extends part way across the member 115 at an elevation higher than the shoulder 129. The shoulder 129 engages the shoulder 131 of the plate 87, while the shoulder 13d simply forms the upper limit of the film gate formed by the frame member 115. For this purpose the frame member 115 is formed with the film gate opening 114 through which the film is exposed. The shoulders 129 and 136 of the frame member 115 are shown in relation to the film in FIG. 10.

It will be noted from FIG. 4 that the upper and lower front corners of the plate 86 are formed with the notches 132 and 133, and these notches are provided so that a screwdriver will have easy access to the screws 118 and 121 for fixing the member 115 to the plate 87.

The viewfinder 42 includes an elongated viewfinder housing 135 (FIG. 3) made of any suitable metal such as stainless steel, for example, and the elongated housing 135 is formed at its front end with a window 135 which is closed by the viewfinder objective 137 fixed to the interior of the housing 135 and extending across and closing the window 136. In the same way the rear wall of the viewfinder housing 135 is formed with an ocular opening which is closed by the ocular 133 fixed to the interior of the viewfinder housing 135 extending across this rear opening thereof. A plate 139 closes the bottom of the viewfinder housing and is fixed to the viewfinder housing 135 in any suitable way.

The side walls of the viewfinder housing 135 are extended so that this housing is provided with a pair of side wall portions 141 from which lips 134- extend. The right side wall 141 which is visible in FIG. 3 is formed with a pair of openings 142. After the interconnected plates 86 and 87 are slipped into casing member 79, the viewfinder housing 35 with all of the viewfinder structure carried thereby is introduced into the aligned cutouts 63 and 73, and the surface of the outer casing member 65 which surrounds the cutout 53 thereof bears against the lips 134. The side walls 141 slide snugly between and engage the plates 85 and 87, so that in this way the viewfinder 42 serves to connect the mechanismcarrying plates 86 and 87 very precisely to the casing means 411 in the interior of the latter. With the viewfinder housing 135 thus assembled, suitable screw members 143 are placed through the opening 144, respectively, of the plate 87 into threaded engagement with the openings 142, so that in this way the viewfinder is fixed to the plate 87.

A tripod screw member 145 extends through the aligned openings 67 and 71 into threaded engagement with the threaded bore 146 of the block 88, so that in this way this tripod screw 145 also participates in this fixing of the plates 86 and 257 to the casing means 40 in the interior of the latter. The tripod screw 145 is formed with a threaded bore 147 adapted to receive the top end of a tripod, or, in the case of FIG. 3, a screw member 48 formed with a central bore 150 to which a pin 149 is fixed and several chain links 151 are connected with the cord 54, and the uppermost chain link of FIG. 3 as pivotally connected with the head end of the pin 149, so that in this way the cord 54 is connected to the tripod screw 14-5. The screw 148 can be quickly removed from the threaded bore 147 so that the camera can then be mounted on a tripod.

As is evident from FIG. 10, the frame member 115 at its portion which extends toward the observer of FIG. beyond the plate 87 together with this plate 87 and the portion of the inner casing member 70 which surrounds the plate 87 forms a magazine compartment 52 which is adapted to receive the magazine 85.

Magazine assembly The magazine assembly of the invention is shown most clearly in FIGS. 7 and 10.

Referring to FIG. 7, it will be seen that the magazine assembly includes a rectangular container member 155 which is open at one side and which is provided with a peripheral portion 156 of reduced thickness, this peripheral portion 156 being overlapped by the cover 157 which carries at its exterior the indicia 84 referred to above. Of course, the edge of the cover 157 cooperates in a lighttight manner with the edge portion 156 of the member 155. At its front wall the member 155 is formed with an elongated cutout 155, and a cover 157 has an elongated cutout 159 of the same length as and aligned with the cutout 1158. Behind the cutout 158, 159 the member 155 carries a wall 155 provided with curved ends 151, and a pressure plate 162 made of springy sheet metal has its free curved ends 163 located within the curved ends 151 of the member 155. The springiness of the pressure plate 162 is such that when the magazine is out of the camera the pressure plate will engage the edges of the front wall of member 155 located at the ends of the cutout 158, and film in the camera will be pinched between these edges and the pressure plate so that no light can enter into the magazine through the cutout 155 when the magazine is out of the camera. The pressure plate 162 is formed with an elongated notch 1 54- made of a sutficient length and width to provide no hindrance to the movement of the tooth of the film-advancing claw referred to below, this tooth extending through a perfora- 8 tion of the film into the slot 154 during operation of the camera.

The member fixedly carried a pin 165 which extends into an axial bore of a core member 165 of a supply spool located within the magazine. Also the member 155 is formed in its side wall with a bore surrounded by a ring 167. Referring now to FIG. 11, the bushing 16% which is fixedly carried by the plate 87 extends into the ring 167 through the opening in the side wall of the member 155 when the magazine is placed within the compartment 152 of the camera, and a driving pin 169 which is rotated in a manner described below carries a cross pin 170 and extends into a bore of the core member 171 of the take-up spool of the camera, this bore having a pair of axial slots or keyways receiving the free ends of the cross pin 17%), so that in this way rotary movement of the driving pin 159 of FIG. 11 will be transmitted to the core 171 of the take-up spool to rotate the latter and wind film onto the take-up spool. A spring clip 1 72 resiliently engages and extends partly around the core 16-5, while a similar clip 173 resiliently engages and extends partly around the core 171, and these clips serve to connect the ends of the film to the cores.

A pair of springy circular members 174, one of which is shown in FIG. 7, are fixed to the inner surface of the cover 157, and these circular members 174- are formed with radial slits and have a portion at one side of this slit bent away from the cover member 157 so as to form a sp-ringy tooth. These members 174 are aligned with the free ends of the cores 166 and 171, respectively, and these cores are formed with notches 175 into which the bent portions of the springy members 174 snap during rotation of the cores. Thus, these springy free end portions of members 174 act as springy teeth cooperating with the notches 175 of the cores to limit these cores to one direction of rotation. The spring pressure of the clips 172 and 173 is carefully chosen so that when tension above a given value is applied to the film (FIG. 10) this film will no longer be held between the spring clip and the core and will instead slip out of the grip to be released from the core. Thus, in the event that the core 171 of FIG. 10 should be turned in a counter clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. it), beyond the point shown in FIG. 10, the end of the film 189 will simply be pulled away from the clip 172 and the core 165 shown in FIG. 10.

As may be seen from FIG. 10, the member 155 has a portion 176 formed with a recess 177, and this recess 177 receives the projection 178 at the end of an arm 179 which is freely turnable within the magazine between the supply and take-up spools, so that in this way the turns of one spool will not engage the turns of the other spool.

When the magazine is introduced into the compartment 152, after the casing cover 141 has been removed, there is sufiicient clearance in this compartment for the operator to press the film and the pressure plate against the film guiding surface at the rear of the frame member 115 extending between the shoulders 129 and 31), so that this portion of the frame member 15 presses the film against the pressure plate 162 and shifts the latter inwardly away from the front wall of the magazine to the position shown in FIG. 10, so that in this way the film is very precisely pressed against the film gate by the pressure plate so that the film can slide along the film gate while being precisely located at the proper distance from the objective in the foco plane.

Power spring assembly The power spring assembly of the camera of the invention is shown most clearly in FIGS. 6 and 11. This assembly includes the spiral power spring whose inner end surrounds an inner hollow core member 186 which has a projection 187 extending through an opening at the inner end of the spring 185 and riveted to the latter so that in this way the inner end of the spring is fixed to the hollow core 186. The spring 18:? is housed within a barrel 188, and the outer end of the spiral spring 185 is formed with an opening 189 to which a lug on the inside ofthe barrel 188 is fixed, so that in this Way the outer end of the spiral spring 185 is fixed to the circular rim of the barrel 1%. The barrel is closed by a circular plate 191) which retains the spring within the barrel 183, this plate 191 having a plurality of peripheral projections 191 extending into notches 1% formed in the free edge of the circular wall of the barrel 138, as shown most clearly in FIG. 8.

A stationary pin 1% is located coaxially within and is faced from the hollow core 186. This pin 1% has a reduced end portion 194 extending into the opening 195 of the plate 87 (FIG. 4), and this reduced end portion 194 is upset so that the stationary pin 1% is riveted to the plate 87 to be fixed to the latter in this way. It will be noted that the opening 195 as well as the reduced end portion 194 or" the pin 193 are of non-circular cross-section, so that the stationary pin 1% is prevented from turning around its own axis.

A coil spring 1% surrounds the pin 193 and is located between the latter and the rotary inner hollow core member 185 of the power spring assembly, and one free end of coil spring 1% is radially bent as indicated at 197, and this free end 1W7 is located in one of the notches 1% formed at one end of the hollow core member 186, so that when this core member is turned in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIGS. 6 and 8, it will have a tendency to tighten the coils of the spring 1% on to the stationary pin 1%, and due to this gripping of the stationary pin 193 by coils 196 when the core 1% tends to turn in a clockwise direction, as viewed as FIGS. 6 and 8, the core 125% is prevented from turning in this direction, and thus the operator cannot turn the core 186 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIGS. 6 and 8. When the operator turns the core 186 to the opposite direction, the tendency is to enlarge the coils of the spring 196 so that they now turn freely with respect to the stationary pin 193 and thus the stationary pin 193 together with the spring 1% form a means which liini" the turning of the core 186 to one direction of rotation. In this way asuming that the barrel is maintained stationary, it is possible to tension the spring which cannot turn the core 186 with respect to the stationary pin 193.

FIG. 14 illustrates another embodiment of a means for limiting the inner hollow core 186 to one direction of rotation. In FIG. 14, the stationary pin 193', which corresponds to the stationary pin 193, is formed with axial grooves 183 of non-symmetrical V-shaped crosssection, as illustrated in FIG. 14, and the rollers 182 are respectively received in these grooves 183 and are engaged by the inner surface of the hollow core 186. Thus, as may be seen from FIG. 14, as long as the core 136 turns in a counter clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 14, it can turn freely, while when the core 186 turns in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 14, the rollers 182 will become wedged in the grooves 183 and will thus prevent turning of the core 186 in a clockwise direction, so that with the structure of FIG. 14 it is also possible to maintain the spring 18$ tensioned.

It should be noted in connection with both. embodiments of the means for limiting the inner hollow core of the power spring assembly to one direction of rotation, that both of these means are located within the hollow core of the power spring assembly, so that an extremely small space is required by this structure and thisv arrangement is one of the factors contributing to the extreme compactness and small size of the camera of the invention. Moreover, by locating the entire means for limiting the core to one direction of rotation within the hollow core itself it is not possible for this means to come in contact with other structure and it is protected from other structure so that a long life of faultless operation is assured.

The rotary hollow core 186 extends through a central opening of the plate 1% which closes the spring barrel 188, and the core 136 also extends freely through an opening 2% formed in the plate 86. Of course, the power spring assembly is located between the plates 86 and 8?, as indicated in FIG. 11. The projecting portion 295 of the core 186 extends beyond the plate 86 and is accessible at the opening 66 of the outer cover member (it), this projection 2% extending across the opening 72 of the inner casing member 7%}.

The free end portion 2&5 of the core 186 is formed with an axial threaded bore 199, and the threaded por tion 2% of a screw member shown at the left of FIG. 3 is received in the threaded bore 1%. The direction of the threading of the screw 2% and the bore H9 is such that the screw 2% becomes tightened in the bore 199 to the core when the screw is turned in that direction which tensions the spring 185. The screw 2th) has an enlarged portion 134 which is fixed to a hollow cap member 2111 which has a flange formed with a pair of opposed notches 292, and the winding handle 43 has a pair of teeth 2% which are respectively received in the notches extending respectively through these notches into the hollow cap 281 which is fixed to the enlarged portion 1% of the screw 2%. A circular springy plate 2414 surrounds the screw 21th and the portion 184 thereof, and the free end of the portion 184 which is visible in FIG. 3 is upset after the spring 2M is placed around this portion 184, so that the end of the enlarged portion 184 which is visible in FIG. 3 overlaps the inner periphery of the circular springy plate 2M and thus retains the latter assembled with the hollow cap 201. Before the springy ring 2% is joined in this way to the screw member 23%, the teeth of the handle 43 are placed in the notches 2% and thus the spring 2% serves to connect the handle 43 to cap member 204 so that the handle 43 cannot now be removed. As a result of the springy ring Zfid, the handle will be resiliently held in the recess 62 flat against the indented portion 61 when the handle is not in use, but at the same time the operator can in opposition to the resilient force of the spring 204 turn the handle 43 outwardly so that it extends perpendicularly from the side wall of the outer casing member 60 and now the handle can be turned for the purpose of tensioning the spring 135.

Of course, the screw 2% and the structure connected thereto is not assembled with the core 186 until after the mechanism-carrying plates 86 and S7 and the struc ture carried thereby is mounted within the camera casing means it"; in the manner described above, and also the screw 2% and the structure carried thereby is removed simply by unscrewing the same from the core 136 when it is desired to remove the plates 86 and 37 and tae structure carried thereby from the interior of the camera casing means 44 The stationary central pin 1% extends through a cen tral opening 2 .2"] which is formed in the side wall of the barrel the.

Gear train The above-described power spring assembly is used to drive the various components of the camera through a gear train. As was pointed out above in connection with the magazine assembly, the pin 169 shown in FIG. 11 is used to drive the takeup spool of the magazine. The drive from the power spring to the drive pin 159 of the magazine takes place through an inner ring gear 210 (FIGS. 6 and 11) which is fixed by screws 211 to the exterior surface of the side wall of the barrel 188 coaxially with the latter. This inner ring gear 211? meshes with a gear 212 which is fixed to the free end of the drive pin 169 between the plate $57 and the barrel 188 within the space surrounded by the ring gear 21% Thus, during rotation of the barrel 188 the drive pin 169 will be rotated.

The transmission ratio between the gears 210 and 212 is such that with a speed which is controlled by the governor assembly described below the pin 169 will rotate at a predetermined speed which will rotate the core 171 of the take-up spool at an angular speed which is of a predetermined value. Thus, considering the take-up spool from the moment the film starts to be wound thereon until the end of the take-up spool is wound thereon, it will be appreciated that due to the increasing diameter of the take-up spool during the winding of the exposed film thereon this film will be wound on the take-up spool without any slack and without any undesirable tension if the speed of rotation of the drive pin 169 and thus of the core 171 decreases continuously from a given starting value so that as a result the film will be delivered to the take-up spool with a given predetermined changing linear speed equal to the rate at which the film is fed to the take-up spool by the film-advancing claw described below. Since it is not feasible to provide a structure which will continuously decrease the speed of rotation of the take-up spool in this manner, it is conventional to provide a drive which will operate on the take-up spool through a friction clutch assembly, but with the camera of the invention such a friction clutch is not used. instead, the speed of rotation of the drive pin 169 is equal to one half the maximum and minimum speeds of rotation which would be required in a case where the speed of the takeup spool were continuously diminished so as to take up the film exactly at a given unchanging linear speed equal to the speed with which the speed is delivered to the takeup spool by the film-advancing claw. By providing a speed of rotation of the driving pin 169 and the core 171 which is midway between these maximum and minimum speeds, the initial speed of rotation will be less than the ideal speed of rotation so that during the first half of the winding of the exposed film on to the take-up spool the convolutions of the take-up spool will be rather loose. However, during the second half of the rotation of the take-up spool the speed of rotation of the drive pin and the core 171 will be greater than the ideal constantly diminishing values of this speed of rotation, so that during this second half of the rotation of the driving pin 169 and core 171 the looseness in the convolutions will be taken up and all of the convolutions wi l snugly engage each other precisely at the end of the rotation of the take-up spool when the entire film strip is wound thereon, and in this way it is possible to avoid the use of any friction clutches while at the same time winding the film in the best possible manner on to the take-up spool.

The ring gear 21% has a smoothly curved projecting portion 213 at one side, and this projecting portion 213, shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, forms a cam for a purpose described below.

The exterior periphery of the barrel 138 is formed with gear teeth 214, and as may be seen from FIG. 11, this barrel meshes with the teeth 216 which are formed on a shaft 215 which extends between the plates 86 and 87. These plates are formed with bores which receives the reduced ends 217 of the shaft 215 so as to form a bearing for the shaft 215 which is thus supported for rotation around its axis. The gear 216 is fixed coaxially with a gear 218 which is located next to the plate 87 (see also FIG. 4), and this gear 218 meshes with a pinion 219 which is fixed coaxially to a gear 228, both the pinion 219 and the gear 224) being fixedly carried by a shaft 221 which has reduced end portions respectively located in coaxial openings of the plate 87 and bridge 1%, so that in this way the gears 219 and 226) are supported for rotation together about their common axis. Of course, the gear 213 extends into the space between the bridge 1% and plate 87, and the gears 219 and 220 are located in this space between the bridge 1% and the plate 87.

The gear 22% meshes with a gear 222 one end of which is reduced and is supported in a suitable opening of the plate $7 for rotation. The other reduced end portion of the gear 222 extends through a central openin. of a cup 24- which forms part of the governor assembly described 22 below and which is fixedly carried by the other plate 86, so that in this way the cup 224 serves also to supportthe gear 222 for rotation about its axis, and of course the drive to the governor assembly takes place through this shaft 222.

The shaft 222 is fixed coaxially with a bevel gear 223 which meshes with a second bevel gear 225 shown in FIGS. 5 and 11, and this bevel gear 225 is fixed to a shaft 226 which extends through an opening of the frame memher and is turnably supported in this opening. On the side of the frame member 115 opposite from the bevel gear 225 the shaft 226 fixedly carries a gear 227.

The front wall unit or assembly of the camera of the invention includes a plate 228 which is fixed directly to the front face of the frame member 115 so as to define with this frame member various chambers formed by recesses in the front face of the frame member 115 and the rear face of the plate 228. Thus, this plate 223 is formed with a series of openings 229, and a series of screws 23% respectively extend through the openings 229 into threaded engagement with threaded bores 23]. which are formed in the front face of the frame member 115, so that in this way the plate 228 is fixed to the front face of the frame member 125. This plate 228 is formed with an opening which receives the reduced front end of the shaft 226, as is evident particularly from FIG. 11, and in this way the plate 22% serves also to support the shaft 226 for rotation about its axis. From the gear 227 the drive is transmitted in a manner described below to the shutter and claw assemblies of the camera.

Governor assembly As was pointed out above, the gear 222 has a reduced end portion supported for rotation by a central opening of a cup 224 which forms part of a governor assembly of the invention. This cup 224 may be made of brass or the like, and it is fixed in the opening 244 (FIG. 4) of the plate 86 in the manner as shown most clearly in FIG. 11. The governor includes a rotary member 235 made of a plastic such as nylon, for example, and as is shown most clearly in FIG. 21, this rotary plastic circular plate 235 is formed with a pair of opposed substantially keyhole slots 236 so that in this way the plate 235 is provided with a pair of diametrically opposed springy winged portions 237 which are adapted to fly outwardly away from the axis of the gear 222 during rotation of the latter. The free end of the gear or shaft 22 is threaded and extends through a central opening of the pastic governor member 235, and a nut 241 is threaded on to the free threaded end portion of the gear 222 so as to fix the governor member 235 to the gear 222 for rotation therewith. A pair of weights 23% are fixed by rivets 239, respectively, to the wings 237, respectively, of the governor member 235 (see also FIG. 4), and the governor member 235 has a pair of diametrically opposed projections 240 which are located next to the inner surface of the cup 224. Thus, during rotation of the governor member 235 when the weighted wings 237 tend to move centrifugally away from the axis of rotation of the member 235, they will cause the projecting portions 249 to press against the inner surface of the cup 224, and in this way the speed of rotation of the gear 222 and thus of all of the driven components of the camera is regulated. The weights 238 may be drilled with holes, or any other suitable means may be provided for closely controlling the mass of these weights and thus controlling the speed of the camera.

In the particular embodiment shown in FIG. 21, there is a bar 242A seated on a shoulder of the shaft 222 and spaced from the plastic governor plate 235, an end portion of the shaft 222 which is of reduced diameter extending through a central opening of the bar 242A and being threaded to receive the nut 241 so that this nut may be loosened to adjust the angular position of the bar 242A on the shaft 222 and then tightened when the angular position of the bar 242A is set. A pair of springs 242B are respectively fixed at one of their ends to the opposed ends of the bar 242A, rsepectively, as by being hooked onto a pair of pins respectively carried by the free ends of the bar 242A, and these springs extend as shown in FIG. 21 to the weights 238 to which they are respectively fixed as by being hooked onto pins respectively carried by these weights. Thus, the tension of the springs 242B can be regulated by regulating the angular position of the bar 242A, and in this way the force required to cause the wings 237 to move outwardly can be regulated so as to provide in this way an adjustable camera speed.

It will be noted that with the above-described governor assembly the governor is freely accessible at the exterior of the plate 86, so that in the event that any adjustments are necessary it is a simple matter to remove the pair of mechanism carrying plates 86 and 87 without separating them from each other and the governor is freely accessible for any adjustments. Of course, it is also true that during assembly of the structure the governor struc ture is very easily assembled and regulated during the initial manufacture for the purpose of precisely setting the speed of movement of the components of the camera. In the assembled camera the cup 224 which projects be yond the exterior surface of the plate 86 extends into the cutout 72 of the side wall of the inner casing member 70, but the governor is covered by the side wall of the outer casing member 60 so that in the finally assembled camera the governor is not visible.

Another embodiment of a governor according to the present invention is illustrated in FIG. where the rotary member 235 is replaced by a rotary member 235' of substantially S-shaped configuration, and a pair of weights 233' are constrained by the member 235 and the rim of the cup 224 to rotate in the latter during rotation of the member 235', and by centrifugal force these free weights 235' will bear against the inner periphery of the cup to provide the speed regulation. The side wall of the casing member 60 will retain the weights 238' within the cup 224-, or a separate cover may be provided for this purpose. Otherwise the embodiment of FIG. 15 is identical with the governor construction described above.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the rotary governor member 235 instead of having weights fixed to the wings thereof has the free ends of a leaf spring 242 fastened to the wings of the governor member 235. These free ends of leaf spring 242 are suitably pointed so that they will dig into the material of the governor member 235. The shaft 222' is elongated and threaded, as indicated in FIG. 17, and this shaft extends through a central opening of the leaf spring 2 32. A nut 243 is threaded on to the free end portion of the shaft 222' and by advancing the nut 243 along the shaft 222 it is possible to increase the stress of the leaf spring and thus regulate the force necessary for the wings to move apart into engagement with the inner periphery of the cup. Thus, this leaf spring 242 and the nut 245 provide a means for adjusting the speed of rotation of the governor assembly and thus of the components of the camera, and if desired the nut 243 may be provided with suitable graduations which can be placed along side an index carried by the exterior of the leaf spring 24-2, so that in this way the mechanic may set the governor to whatever speed it is desired for the particular camera.

Shutter assembly As was pointed out above, the gear 227 (FIGS. 9 and 11) of the gear train serves to transmit the drive to the shutter assembly of the camera. Referring to FIGS. 5, 8, 9, 11 and 12, it will be seen that the gear 227 driven by the gear train described above meshes with a gear 255 which is supported for rotation by a pin 252 fixedly carried by the frame member 115. This pin also supports for free rotation a gear 251 which is coaxial with the gear 256, and a circular plate 253 is formed with an opening through which the pin 252 extends and serves to separate the gears 25d and 251 from each other. This pair of coaxial gear-s 250 and 25f, which are identical, mesh with a common gear 254 which is supported for rotation by a stationary elongated pin 265 fixedly carried by the frame 115. The pair of gears 256 and 251 respectively mesh with a pair of gears 255 and 255 (FIG. 12), and the gear 255 is formed with an elongated hub on which the gear 256 is freely turnable. A shaft 257 extends into the hollow hub of the gear 255, and this shaft 257 carries an eccentric cam which is formed with a bore into which extends a pin 2% which also extends into an opening of the gear 255, so that in this way the gear 255 and the shaft 257 are constrained to rotate together. The frame member is formed with an opening which receives an end portion of the shaft 257, so that in this way the shaft is supported for rotation about its axis, and an additional structure described below also participates in the support of the shaft 257 for rotation about its axis.

The elongated hollow hub of the gear 255 extends beyond the gear 256, and the free end portion of this hub which extends beyond the gear 256 is fixed to a shutter blade 258. FIGS. 27 and 28 particularly show this construction. Thus, the free end of the hollow hub of the gear 255 is of a non-circular cross-section and extends into a mating non-circular opening of the blade 259 and is suitably upset so as to be fixed permanently with this shutter blade 259. Between the shutter blade 259 and the gear 256 is the second shutter blade 258 which is formed with an opening through which the shaft 257 freely extends. A stop pin 261 extends through an opening of the blade 258 into an opening of the gear 256 so that in this Way the blade 25% is fixed to the gear 256 for rotation therewith. As is apparent particularly from FIGS. 27, 29 and 9 the pair of shutter blades 25S and 259 are of substantially semi-circular configuration. The pin 261 limits the turning of the shutter blade 258 together With the gear 256 in a clockwise direction with respect to the blade 259, as viewed in FIG. 27, and when the blade 258 is turned in a counter clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 27, with respect to the blade 259, the stop pin 261 will engage the opposite edge of the blade 259 to limit the rotation in this latter direction. Thus, FIG. 27 illustrates the minimum gap formed between the shutter blades, and this gap may be increased to a size somewhat greater than that illustrated in FIG. 9 for the purpose of increasing the exposure time. The pin 264 which serves to fix the shaft 257 to the gear 255 is clearly illustrated in FIG. 29 as Well as the eccentric cam referred to below.

The gear 254 has an elongated axially bored hub 266 which receives the stationary pin 265 which is carried by the frame member 115 and which supports the gear 254 for rotation, and a coil spring 267 surrounds the elongated axial portion 266, abuts at one end against the gear 254-, and abuts at its opposite end against the inner face of the plate 228 of the front wall assembly, so that in this way the spring 267 maintains the gear 254 in the position shown most clearly in FIG. 11 Where it meshes with both of the gears 259 and 251, so that during operation of the camera these gears will rotate as a unit and will cause the gears 255 and 256 to rotate as a unit for the purpose of rotating the shutter blades 258, 259 without movement of the blades 258 and 259 one with respect to the other. Of course, the gears 255 and 256 are identical and they are also separated by a plate similar to the plate 253.

When the camera is not operating the shaft 257 and the gear 255 and shutter blade 259 therewith are always maintained in a given angular position in a manner described beloW, as long as the spring is under some tension. Thus, the blade 259 will always have a given position when the camera is stopped and will thus serve as a reference point from which to adjust the gap between the 

1. IN A MOTION PICTURE CAMERA, IN COMBINATION, A TOOTHED COUNTER WHEEL; SUPPORT MEANS SUPPORTING SAID WHEEL FOR ROTATION ABOUT ITS AXIS; A YIELDABLE PIN HAVING AN OPERATING POSITION COOPERATING WITH SAID WHEEL TO LIMIT THE LATTER TO ONE DIRECTION OF ROTATION; MEANS CARRIED BY SAID SUPPORT MEANS FOR PLACING SAID PIN IN SAID OPERATING POSITION THEREOF ONLY WHEN A MAGAZINE IS IN THE CAMERA; AND PAWL MEANS COOPERATING WITH SAID WHEEL FOR INDEXING THE LATTER DURING EXPOSURE OF FILM IN THE CAMERA, WHEREBY 